Friday, August 17, 2012

To Be Or Not To Be…Gluten Free…

To Be Or Not To Be…Gluten Free…

Gluten-free walleye batter...yum

A call to action - I am going to begin today with a call to action, a
disclaimer and then get to the good stuff. The call to action is this – if you
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The disclaimer - Okay enough of the housekeeping – now the disclaimer. I am
writing this food and travel blog from my own experiences, perspective and
knowledge base which changes all the time. This is especially important as we
venture into the gluten-free discussion. While a scientist by schooling and a
social scientist by experience this discussion is based upon my own experiences
and the guests that I have on the blog. Some of those guests may be from my
family and friends and others I have just met, all of whom are experts about
their own experiences. I have been surprised at the interest and the level of
discussions that I end up involved with related to gluten-free eating. Now on
to the good stuff…

The good stuff - To be or not to be gluten-free? I have a family that is
motivated to live as fully and well as we possibly can – a no regrets
philosophy permeates the entire fiber of our being. That means moving out of
our comfort zones on a regular basis and

continually
challenging ourselves to try to incorporate lifestyle choices to maximize our
body, mind and soul. Meditation, reading, and yoga are some of the regular
activities in our household as well as biking, jogging, walking and swimming
(soon…more on the triathlon challenge later). Our family loves to play games,
go boating and fishing and of course, travel and cook together (or at least eat
together). Lest you stop reading because we sound like the Cleavers, let me assure
you we are not without our challenges and weight is one of those challenges. It
is a huge challenge and we are continually seeking alternative eating
strategies to help control or at least get our weight to a point where we can
more fully engage in our other activities. Now, some of us are more concerned
than others because of the desire to eat all of the food that I love to cook
and the on-going discussion about the weight of muscle mass that we accumulate
when we bike and exercise as much as we do. But the reality is that most of the
people in my family carry more weight than we would like and that we notice a
lighter sense of being when we are eating healthily.

When we engage in a new “eating plan” or “change of eating lifestyle choice”
we try to do it as an entire family, since it is easier to cook for the masses
and have less “tempting” or “challenging” foods around in the house, plus there
is a sense of camaraderie and team spirit and support that comes from working
together. Sometimes the discussion about incorporating a different way of
eating takes weeks and months before we land on a strategy for all of us to
start together. Well, this lengthy processing did not take place this time; I
was not going to incorporate gluten-free foods into my kitchen, lifestyle or
life…period. No one in my family has celiac disease and I was not going to give
up my pasta…I am Mama Caruso, pasta is my ultimate comfort food – my go to food
and something that I just won’t give up, end of discussion…or not…

﻿﻿

This entire discussion began in the late winter as we were putting together
our training plan to ride our bikes 400 plus miles in a week across Iowa and my
husband believed that if he was lighter that it would change his experience. I
had just gotten back from a trip to Ghana and knew that long-distance travel is
much easier without carrying around my own extra weight and so we decided to
look at some food options that would not compromise our long-distance bike
training and would maximize our lives. We looked at a number of options but the
main criterion was that it needed to be something that was sustainable. We had
been vegetarians for years when we lived in Boulder and were moving back in that
direction when along came the book “Wheat Belly” by Dr. William Davis and all
collaboration ceased – my husband was going to go wheat gluten-free and I was
not. The irony of that statement as I sit here 6 months later on family
vacation munching on home-made gluten-free shortcake that is absolutely
delicious is not lost on me. And, the gluten-free batter for the walleye was
significantly better than the Shore Lunch we used for the other half of the
family.

﻿﻿

Fresh walleye ready for thegrill - a great addition to agluten-free menu

We have traveled to northern Minnesota for a family vacation filled with
fishing, boating, playing and eating, eating, eating. We have 3 cabins and each
family grouping in a cabin is responsible for cooking one meal for everyone
during the week. There are currently 4 of the 11 of us who are living the wheat
gluten-free lifestyle and in the next post, I will share the menus we have been
cooking and the strategies that have been employed to support a gluten-free
family vacation. I can tell you that we have been able to incorporate
gluten-free family fun without compromising anyone’s desires – in fact, it was
at last night’s murder mystery dinner party that we had the gluten-free
strawberry shortcake…which was enjoyed by all! Next week, I will share some of
the interviews from the people who rode RAGBRAI as gluten-free riders as well
as share some of our own experiences…and if you have one of your own
gluten-free story you would like me to share please contact me at www.mamacaruso@yahoo.com or tweet me
at @mamacaruso1 I look forward to hearing from you...from my table to yours.

Which is the most important item in this picture? This photo taken from the seat of my bicycle represents security to me. When I am out ...

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